DeMar DeRozan has improved his defensive play over the course of his rookie season.
"He was more of a scorer coming in; defense is not glorified at all," Antoine Wright said of DeRozan. "I think what he's understanding is that he sets the tone of the game and you let a guy like (Oklahoma City's) Kevin Durant make his first five shots, it's going to be difficult for me and Sonny to come there and put that fire out."
"He's earned the opportunity to play in late-game situations because he's gotten much better defensively," Jay Triano said of DeRozan.
"He's had a tough guy to guard pretty well every single night and we've been very pleased with what he's done."